Ello – does it have a future

Ello – the new social network – is getting really many new members right now. It is sold with a promise that they don’t show ads (like Facebook) and will respect all users privacy. So basically a social network without income. But is that the truth and will this last forever? And how can we use Ello for social marketing.

Ello is currently still in a betaversion, which means that you will need an invitation to be able to create a profile. This is of course only temporary and it is easy to get an invitation from friends on your other social networks, e.g. Google Plus, since over 30000 new users get a profile for Ello each hour.

When you get into Ello you will discover that there is really many users, but not very much activity. It is like everyone wants a profile right now, but only waiting for more to happen.

You will also discover that Ello really only have a minimum design, still have a lot of errors and missing features. For instance there is still missing an app for Android or iOS. However, Ello is currently working hard to develop this.

Ello is promissing that they will not show ads, but maybe in the future sell access to extended features. But is this even possible? Even though I think that many people find Facebooks ads enoying – I have no doubt that they will not at all pay for very simple features. So what features can Ello really present that will make us pay for them?

I will look forward to see this, because I doubt that is possible. And nothing is completely free, so Ello will have to find a way to create income.

Ello will also need to really upgrade a lot of features on their website, so it becomes more usable. Because right now it is too simple and even general features like hashtags or reshare is not possible. These are fundamental features of a social network and a part of the viral effect that a social media can create.

So right now we are waiting for Ello to present us the product that will make them survive. But how can we use Ello in Social Marketing?

First of all it is already possible to link from Ello and Ello have or will have a lot of users. So this is a great way to gain more trafic for your site and I suggest that you use that opportunity. Also remember, that if you create content on Ello this also increase the chance that your friends will stay on Ello.

There is a lot of link options. Beside directly links in posts, it is also possible to link from your profile. And you can add as many links as you want.

But I think that it is important that you don’t prioritize your time on Ello instead of Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus which will still let you get more trafic than you can get from Ello.

Have you created your own Ello profile yet? And what do you think of this new social network?